Short Answer Questions

3. In what way are people allowed to communicate with those outside the city?

4. What creative problem does Grand have?

5. What problem has the Prefect to deal with, making his job harder?

Short Essay Questions

1. What factors are making life stressful for Dr. Rieux?

2. In what era is the story set?

3. How do people react to Fr. Paneloux's sermon?

4. What is the popular mood as described in Part 2 Chapter 5?

5. Who is Raymond Rambert?

6. What do you think is interesting about Grand?

7. Why is Jean Tarrou important in the story?

8. Why have telegrams become the main means of contact ordinary people now have with the outside world?

9. What literary device does Camus use in Chapter 5 to accentuate meaning?

10. What is one result of the sudden closing of the city gates?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Usually in a novel there is a network of conflict between characters. While some of this happens in The Plague (think of Rambert's efforts to escape the city), it is minimal. What is the source of conflict in The Plague? Is it internal, external or a combination? How does this conflict arise and how is it worked out?

Essay Topic 2

Identify the sub-plots in The Plague. These concern the stories of certain characters. In an essay, show how the stories of characters compel us to be interested in the main plot--the struggle against the antagonist, which is the plague itself.

Essay Topic 3

'The Plague shows us the way people deal with adversity.' People's responses to adversity are affected by their strength of character, or the lack thereof, as well as their outlook on life. Examine the popular responses to the plague situation and compare these with Dr. Rieux's.